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Invasions Set off War in Europe
Germany invaded Poland because Hitler was wanting to expend Germany, thus setting off war in Europe. Since Hitler signed a non-aggression act with the Soviet Union he made a deal with the S.U. that he would give them part of Poland if they helped him take it. The S.U. agreed and received part of Poland.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germany-invades-poland -
Germany Invades France
Germany invaded France and took over Paris. In six weeks from 10 May 1940,German forces defeated Allied forces by mobile operations and conquered France and others, Italy entered the war and attempted an invasion of France.Later the Second Armistice was signed by France and Germany, which resulted in a division of France. This led to the end of the French Third Republic. France was not liberated until the summer of 1944.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-enter-paris -
Battle of Britian
Immediately after the defeat of France, Adolf Hitler ordered his generals to organize the invasion of Britain. The objective was to land 160,000 German soldiers along a forty-mile coastal stretch of south-east England. Within a few weeks the Germans had assembled a large armada of vessels, including 2,000 barges in German, Belgian and French harbors.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-britain -
Lend Lease
The Lend-Lease Act was the principal means for providing U.S. military aid to foreign nations during World War II. It allowed the president to transfer arms or other defense materials to “the government of any country whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the United States.” By conveying supplies without repayment to Britain, China, S.U and others,the US supported its war interests and wasnt strained in battle.
http://spartacus-educational.com/2WWlendlease.htm -
Operation Barbarossa
On June 22, 1941, Adolf Hitler launched his armies eastward in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union. The invasion covered a front from the North Cape to the Black Sea, a distance of two thousand miles. Barbarossa was the crucial turning point in World War II, for its failure forced Nazi Germany to fight a two-front war against a coalition possessing immensely superior resources.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.The Japanese's plan was to destroy the Pacific Fleet. That way, the Americans would not be able to fight back as Japan’s armed forces spread across the South Pacific. More than 2,000 Americans soldiers and sailors died in the attack,another 1,000 wounded. The day after the assault, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor -
Battle of Midway
The attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States defeated Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II.The United States was able to preempt and counter Japan’s planned ambush of its few remaining aircraft carriers, inflicting permanent damage on the Japanese Navy. An important turning point in the Pacific campaign, the victory allowed the United States and its allies to move into an offensive position.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad in the U.S.S.R. during World War II. It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military and civilian casualties of nearly 2 million.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad# -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
From April 19 to May 16, 1943, during World War II (1939-45), residents of the Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, Poland, staged an armed revolt against deportations to extermination camps. The Warsaw ghetto uprising inspired other revolts in extermination camps and ghettos throughout German-occupied Eastern Europe.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/warsaw-ghetto-uprising -
D-Day
On D-Day,156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. Prior to D-Day, the Allies conducted a large-scale deception campaign designed to mislead the Germans about the intended invasion target. By late August,all of northern France had been liberated, and the next spring the Allies had defeated the Germans.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day -
Battle of the Bulge
Adolph Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp. Caught off-guard, American units fought desperate battles to stem the German advance.. As the Germans drove deeper into the Ardennes in an attempt to secure vital bridgeheads, the Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge(hints the name).
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge -
Bataan Death March
After the U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine island of Luzon to the Japanese during World War II (1939-45), the approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make a 65-mile march to prison camps. The marchers made the trek in intense heat and were subjected to harsh treatment by Japanese guards.Thousands perished and it became known as the Bataan Death March.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
Soviet soldiers were the first to liberate concentration camp prisoners in the final stages of the war. On July 23, 1944, they entered the Majdanek camp in Poland, and later overran several other killing centers. On January 27, 1945, they entered Auschwitz and there found hundreds of sick and exhausted prisoners.The Germans had been forced to leave these prisoners behind in their hasty retreat from the camp.
https://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007724 -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima stemmed from the need for a base near the Japanese coast.Three U.S. marine divisions landed on the island in February 1945. Iwo Jima was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, who fought from a network of caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations.The marines wiped out the defending forces after a month of fighting, and the battle earned a place in American lore.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
An American bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima that wiped out 90% of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. Three days later, another A-bomb dropped on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people.Emperor Hirohito announced his country’s surrender in World War II, Americas goal was met.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki#
